Posts Tagged ‘Nehemiah 8:1-12’

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Nehemiah 8:1-12

Given that Br. Luke (our acolyte today) went to a lot of trouble learning how to pronounce all those difficult names, I feel it’s only right that we should reflect on the lesson from Nehemiah this morning.

It might help to first establish a context for these words.  You may remember that early in the 6^th century B.C.E., the Israelites were conquered by the Babylonians.  It was a devastating defeat.  The temple at Jerusalem was completely destroyed, as was the city itself, and the majority of the people were carried off into captivity.  Only a small remnant remained.  The period of exile lasted 70 years, and gave rise to the book of Lamentations and to several psalms of lament – Psalm 137, for example: “By the waters of Babylon, we sat down and wept, when we remembered you, O Zion” (Psalm 137:1).  In the year 538 B.C.E., Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians.  The Persian ruler, Cyrus the Great, was a wise and compassionate man who not only gave the Israelites permission to begin returning home, but also provided the resources they needed to rebuild the temple.  A first wave of exiles left Babylon to return to Judah.

It took over eighty years before a second group of exiles returned to Jerusalem, led by the prophet Ezra, in 455 B.C.E.  Ten years after this second group departs, we find Nehemiah, a Jew still living in Persia, serving as cupbearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes.  Nehemiah hears a report that deeply troubles him: the Israelites are still struggling to establish themselves in their home country.  They have managed to rebuild the temple, but the walls around Jerusalem are still in ruins.  After four months of prayer, Nehemiah decides to risk approaching the king.  He asks for permission to return to Jerusalem with a third group of exiles, with the expressed purpose of rebuilding the city’s walls.